Article Topics

Most Americans Pause From Using Facebook

March 1, 2013

Unlocking Word MeaningsRead the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. intend[in-TEND] (v.) – to have an action in mind; to plan to do something

Example: The student intends to delete his Facebook account so he can focus on his studies.

2. break[breyk] (n.) – a time to stop or rest from doing an activity

Example: I took a break from visiting Facebook because it started to bore me.

3. profile[PROH-fayl] (n.) – a summary of one’s personal data on a website

Example: He added his e-mail address and phone number to his Facebook profile so old friends could contact him.

4. fatigue[fuh-teeg](n.) – condition of being very tired

Example: She felt fatigue after playing computer games for three days without sleep.

5. plateau[pla-toh](v.) – to be in an unchanging level; to stop increasing

Example: The number of users of the website has plateaued because people are not excited to join the site anymore.

ArticleRead the text below.

Facebook has become accessible anytime and anywhere. With a reported one billion and more active users, it is now one of the most popular social networking sites in the world. But a new research revealed that many Americans actually get tired of the social networking site and pause from using it.

The research by the Pew [pyoo] Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project said that in US, around 67% of people who use the Internet also use Facebook.

The Pew researchers found that of US Facebook users, 27% intended to spend less time on the site this year while only 3% planned to spend more time on Facebook.

Pew researchers also learned that 61% of the users took a break from using Facebook for several weeks. However, most users did not remove their Facebook profiles during their breaks. Only 20% of people who left Facebook deleted their accounts.

The most common reason for “Facebook fatigue” was that people did not have enough time for the site, especially when they were busy with real-life responsibilities. Others said that Facebook was just a waste of time or that they were no longer interested with what they saw on Facebook. A few people also mentioned lack of privacy as their reason.

In addition, only 8% of American non-Facebook users wanted to join the site. This lack of interest suggests that the number of Facebook users could plateau.

If users continue to leave the site, Facebook may end up like fallen social media companies Friendster and MySpace.

Viewpoint DiscussionEnjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A

·Do you think a site like Facebook can fail, given that it has around a billion users? Why or why not?

·In your opinion, how can a website or online service keep its number of users?